Trem by: Alex Baxter Scott

 

Trem is the debut novel from Alex Baxter Scott, self-published on Amazon in 2018, and currently the first in at least a three-novel series.  For full disclosure purposes, I have personally spoken to Scott over direct messages on Twitter which is where I was made aware of Trem’s existence, however, I shall strive not to let my personal feelings of friendship for the author affect the way this review is written.  It’s a novel which could accurately be described as an urban fantasy romance novel, with some flavorings of gothic horror thrown in for good measure.  The plot of Trem is primarily concerned with Gabby Morgan who stumbles upon a world of magic: an alien Manzazzu called Trem has been living in an old manor house near Gabby’s home for years, bringing back benevolent spirits for company, and really just minding her own business and getting on with her own life.  From there the novel splits into two primary threads, the first being the conspiracy of the Manzazzu and the budding romance between Gabby and Trem that arises over the course of the novel.  These two plotlines are enough to fill a book, but Trem is a novel which falls into the trap of writing a story with almost too many threads, common in first time writers, meaning that much of what Scott includes isn’t as fleshed out as perhaps it could have been.  Still, props to Scott for daring to include musings on the nature of death and how people would react if they discovered an afterlife, any afterlife, was real, something that isn’t always explored.  The world of Trem has been thought out with Manzazzu society being seen through the eyes of Gabby as something truly old and inhuman, but not necessarily inhumane.

 

While romance is not a genre which I am familiar with, the sections of the novel devoted to the developing attraction and romance between Gabby and Trem are where Scott demonstrates his best work with characters.  The relationship is essentially a variation on the “friends to lovers” trope, but Scott avoids making either perfect people falling in love.  Gabby is still a teenager and unsure of her place in the world, with that odd relationship most teenagers have with their parents while Trem doesn’t really consider what taking someone away for two days will have on them.  The pair argue for lack of a better term, and have their own disagreements, and their romance slowly develops over the first half of the book or so.  The integration with the romance and the conspiracy does feel like two separate books occurring in parallel, and could have been integrated better, but both plots follow satisfactory arcs.  Trem’s grandfather serves as the novel’s primary antagonist.  Treman is a character who is a bit too over the top in many areas as the standard racist villain who is trying to gain his own power, but really is just sniveling.  As a threat there are points where he seems a bit tacked onto the book while the rest of the story happens around him.  The supporting cast are where Scott shines as a writer, giving Trem four ghost friends for company, each with their own quirks from an actor, to a pirate, to a gentleman.  Gabby’s parents are also well portrayed as caring and understanding to a fault, but still human and prone to flaws.

 

That isn’t to say that everything about Trem is positive: as said above it is a first novel and as such there are some pacing issues, especially in the finale of the novel which wants to serve as a hook and does it well, but would serve better as a preview for the next book in the series.  Scott’s prose and style aren’t as developed as they could be, and while the action scenes are engaging, there are moments where the way the book is written is a little on the bland side.  There are hints at a style developing, however, meaning that this may be in the sequels.  There are also a few pitfalls which the book falls into by the nature of being self-published: Scott did not have a professional editor, so word flow isn’t always perfect and there are examples of typos.  The print edition is also not the best formatted version of the book, having the title page on the wrong page, being in an odd font, and honestly not doing the author justice.  Overall, Trem while a first time novel, is a good first time novel.  There are flaws and the inspirations are worn on the book’s sleeve, but it won’t disappoint in telling a story that is at least fun and hints at a larger world.  7/10